The Ultimate Landscape Photography Editing Tool | Focus Stack, HDR Blend & Upscale in Seconds

[@careywest]

It all depends on the quality of the images I captured. If the photos are just ok, I still love taking them, but I enjoy processing less. But if I love the photos, and I'm excited about them, then I enjoy the processing as much as capturing them

[@MichaelShainblum]

That's a good point, thanks Carey!

[@Flaura2710]

I relate so much to that !

[@ethan....]

I enjoy the shooting part of photography. I shoot landscapes so for me, I started photography because I loved nature and the outdoors. Therefore, spending more time outside shooting, is more enjoyable. Although, post-processing is exciting seeing an image come to life, I do actually enjoy witnessing the scene in person more.

[@jc.schultz]

I love Neo as a plugin, as it has some great features, but rarely find it my starting point. What is most impressive in my opinion is that all of there efforts have continued from a company in Kyiv, Ukraine where things are far from okay right now. Just another example of the strength of the Ukrainian people!

[@ronpettitt6184]

One issue I have with Luminar is the packages. They seem to be changing their packages and pricing all the time. Last I looked you had to pay for each extension, over $100 each for the HDR, Stacking and a few others. I'm a little disappointed in them for that. Every time they change their direction it seems they ask for more money.

[@JohnHPettigrewFujishooter67]

Thanks for sharing Michael I have been using Luminar for years now I think it's time to upgrade to Neo. Thanks again.

[@MichaelShainblum]

Thanks for watching John!

[@jessejayphotography]

I enjoy being in the field more. I'm insane and still like to use gradient filters even when using a digital camera. I mostly use post processing to fix things that are hard to see on the tiny camera screen or to do focus stacking or merging so this software is interesting in that regard.

[@treyfoerster8759]

I like both infield and PP. Both take different mindsets and skills.

[@Petroupas]

It's better to start with the develop tool because the first time you use it, it edits the raw file (only the first time - Develop Raw), for every other module, luminar creates a tif file (I think...) to make the edits.

[@tallaganda83]

I like the shooting and PP equally to be honest. Being out in the bush is very rewarding but also can be very tiring. Getting back home with a coffee and getting to view and play with the fruits of my labour in high resolution with a coffee is very relaxing. They are both different sides of the one coin.

[@EricBrummel]

Great video! Might have to give Luminar Neo a try. Edit: The audio sync issue seems to be fixed now on my TV. :)

[@mibreit-photo]

What is your experience with more complex focus stacks like woodland? I use Helicon for that currently as I think it's one of the best dedicated tools out there - I works so well and the retouching tool is great. But I'd be interested in your take on Luminar for Stacking complex scenes. Does it offer retouching in case the magic doesn't work?

[@PerryKiblerboy-of-destiny]

I want to like Luminar, their UI is fantastic, but they have to work on the speed. It's incredibly slow, frustrating to use even on a M1 Max. And besides the speed, the sky replacement and various other tools are not my jam-which is fine, I can ignore those, but that seems to be their primary focus.

[@SachaFernandez]

Awesome guide! Very comprehensive

[@celeno31]

good video and tuto my friend

[@MichaelShainblum]

Thanks so much Alain!

[@AndrewMacdonaldPhotography]

Very interesting Michael. They have also contacted me about making a similar video. My BIG question for you is...Would you find yourself using this over LR and PS??

[@ahmedtibrizi7363]

Do you use the a7siii for stills ?

[@mypeakxv]

I use Neo as a plugin with Photoshop and Lightroom. It's a a great program. If I have done a shoot in one area with similar conditions, it's easy to create a preset for all the images.

[@JeniaFabisuk]

Would be nice showing a relatively hard case of a focus stack with flowers for example. The showcased one can be easily done in PS. Nothing mind blowing so far.

[@MichaelShainblum]

I have done flower stacks with this software as well with no issues. But the fact that it is able to focus stack isn't really the mind-blowing part IMO. In Photoshop I have to bring all of the images via Camera Raw or Lightroom, load them up as layers, Image Align > Blend, then re-save. Doing that 50 times over adds up a lot extra of time and half the time Photoshop runs into glitches where it does not work properly and brings in random blurry spots. Here it is literally, drag the images into the box and click ok. That for me is pretty huge, especially with something I already hate doing. Now a really advanced shot like flowers with a bunch of wind blowing ends up becoming a manual blend anyways, even Helicon cant fix that part when the pixels can not be fully aligned.

[@johndonegan8110]

looks like 6 of one , half a dozen of other... Neo and LR

[@MichaelShainblum]

Eh idk, they both have pretty unique tools. LR does not have focus stacking, not nearly as good noise reduction etc. But in contrast, LR has cataloging and panorama functions. So I find myself using both for different reasons.

[@LarsRoeddk]

I love nature - but I also love to go deep into a picture in the post-process :-)

[@iancarvell2519]

Hi Michael, will this software replace photoshop for you?

[@forresthogue3532]

Have you tried the mystical tool yet? It’s name is very fitting, as it gives a photo a fairytale/ethereal/painterly look. Mystical in combination with glow is pretty magical.

[@MichaelShainblum]

I haven't, but I will definitely give it a shot on my next edit, thanks for the suggestion!

[@macsprotte1436]

Is the waterfall file a raw file? If so, it would be far better to start with the develop module. If you start with enhance you loose the raw advantages.

[@MichaelShainblum]

Enhance (accent) works on the raw data in the same manor that the other sliders do. It’s just another raw adjustment same as moving any of the other develop tools, so you would not loose any advantages. That would only be true if luminar needed to create a tiff file while using that slider, but that is not the case here, you are still just working with the raw data of the image.

[@NeilArthurs]

Fantastic set of images to use as these examples! I have thought about getting luminar neo and seeing it being used here is certainly making me think a little harder about that for sure!! Really appreciate the overview, it looks like a great program! Cheers!

[@MichaelShainblum]

Thanks Neil, its a great program for the price and I have been really enjoying using it so far.

[@martinorech391]

Some nice tool indeed, and great to have competitors that allow you to use HSL panel even when masking. This is the number one issue i have with LR. In 2023 it’s an unbelievable limitation! Orton effect already included as a panel is just great!

[@MichaelShainblum]

The Orton is so nice, same with the HSL which was also a big critique of mine of LR too with the masking. It's definitely nice to see smaller companies giving Adobe a run for their money. Hopefully, it lights a fire under them and we get great software all around.

[@martinorech391]

@@MichaelShainblum exactly. when they stop improving and delivering the best tools to professionals whom supported their business for ages... they deserve strong competitors to join the race and aim to the throne! :D HSL pisses me off incredibly. I'm using capture one just for this reason... but there i'm pissed that you can't intersect mask (best recent LR update). in the end i'm just pissed i need 3 software to express my photographic weirdness XD

[@golfsafetyexpert3478]

Hi - is the luminar neo focus stack output better than photoshop?

[@MichaelShainblum]

I tested 5 different stacks both in Photoshop and in Neo and Neo got all of them, whereas two had minor issues in Photoshop. So for my own work, I think the output is better in Neo. But that might vary depending on the image style.

[@rodtheer8141]

So have you swutched to using this software full time?

[@MichaelShainblum]

Nah I am a creature of habit, so I still find myself using tools in Photoshop that I have used for 15+ years and cant seem to get past. But I am using this more and more on my images. For the money and the tools, I think this is a better deal than LR+PS.

[@rodtheer8141]

@@MichaelShainblum Interesting. I have been thinking of switching…been using LR and PS for a long time as well

[@OtocinclusAffinis]

Canon M50 RAW is still not supported.

[@MichaelShainblum]

That's a bummer :(